


Seeing Begins in the Dark

by paperwar



Series: Trouble Shared [2]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou
Genre: Chromatic Character, Chromatic Source, Multi, OT3, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-24
Updated: 2011-09-24
Packaged: 2017-10-24 00:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/256878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperwar/pseuds/paperwar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natsume is still a dangerous person to be around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeing Begins in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Enormous gratitude to hotwaterfortea and invocations, my two betas; their suggestions and enthusiasm made such a difference!
> 
> The title is from the poem ["Station"](http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=8974) by Li-Young Lee.

Takashi wouldn't say he generally had peaceful dreams, but the past week had been extreme. From the time he closed his eyes until he woke up, the world was nothing but malice: his dreams were full of unease, of certainty that he was being targeted, of darkness and obscured vision and danger. Sometimes he thought he saw Kaname or Tooru, blurry shapes in the distance, and he could never figure out if they were in trouble or simply, like him, struggling to resist the tide of hatred swamping them. There'd be echoes of eerie laughter, a sound that made him cower. Sometimes there was something around his neck -- hands, a rope? -- and he'd wake scratching at his skin.

Most vivid dreams were courtesy of youkai. But he knew, from checking family records, the day of the year that his father died, that his mother died, that he first left the small cottage and went to live with an impatient, uncaring relative. His nightmares were predictable around these dates; he felt guilty that Tooru and Kaname knew them by heart too, but most of the time he could let himself accept the comfort they gave him.

He woke up sweating one morning, running these dates through his head but knowing even as he did it that none of them were near. In high school, he'd been envious of people like Nishimura, who bemoaned their dreams around exam periods: their bad dreams made sense. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if his mind was reacting in a similar way to a very different stressor. Lately there were more and more youkai incidents: hostile spirits, or just mischievous ones, teasing or outright hunting humans. Many of these cases didn't involve him, but he found himself dragged in anyway as a wearied negotiator, castigated by human and youkai both.

"I didn't sleep well," he told Kaname and Tooru needlessly, since they could see the same heavy circles under his eyes that he did in the mirror. Some mid-morning sunshine streamed through the window, but he felt cold inside regardless.

"I'll cook again tonight," Kaname said as Tooru left for the bookstore. Takashi, staring into his tea, had to be asked by Kaname twice what time he was due at work before he heard him.

Takashi kissed Kaname goodbye, barely hearing him say he was doing the lunchtime shift, and staggered out to the convenience store. He patted at his pockets as he made his way down the street: keys, wallet, phone. Yes. And a wad of Natori's paper dolls.

**

Kaname was washing the dishes, staring out the kitchen window at nothing in particular, when a wave of dizziness broke over him. The bowl he was holding clattered as it hit the sink. Knees buckling, he gripped the counter. Just as quickly as it came, the sensation receded, leaving him sucking in air as he wiped his forehead with his arm. He leaned towards the window and craned his neck, scanning the area around the house, but he didn't see anything -- not a shadow, not even a half-something.

"It's probably nothing, right?" he grumbled, finishing the dishes and getting changed for work.

As he left the house, his head started to ache, a low, steady pulse across his skull. He stuffed his keys in his pocket and gazed at his shoe. After a few seconds he stole a glance out of the corners of his eyes, but that didn't reveal anything. He straightened up and walked around the house, through the backyard and around again to the front. He didn't see anything. He hadn't expected to.

That didn't mean there was nothing there.

He gave up and headed to the restaurant.

**

Takashi liked the earlier shifts: lunchtime was busy, but by then he'd usually woken up and could marshal his strength and attention for the rest of the day. An hour before the end of his shift, both people for the next one called in sick. The manager pleaded with him to stay on. He stifled a sigh and agreed; the extra pay would be welcome. He texted Kaname and Tooru to let them know and put his phone away.

By the time he left, he'd regained some peace of mind. The late afternoon and early evening shift always flew by. He was looking forward to whatever kitchen miracle Kaname had pulled off for dinner that night.

The house was dark as he turned the corner onto their street. He frowned. Maybe Kaname was taking a nap. He unlocked the front door and snapped on the lights.

No one was there, but the back door was open, letting in the breeze. He could smell food; there were pots on the stove that were still warm to the touch. Where was Kaname now? Where was Tooru? Had she come home already? He snatched his phone out of his jacket pocket: nothing. He called Kaname: no answer. Same with Tooru. He called them again, leaving garbled, frantic messages, while pacing through the house.

"Nyanko-sensei!" he yelled. Was he gone too? Maybe he'd made an early start on drunkenly harassing everyone at Yatsuhara. He fervently hoped the youkai's absence was due to nothing more ominous than that.

It was on his third tear through the house that he discovered the paper on the kitchen counter.

"We have them," it said, in large, blocky handwriting. Takashi's heart wrenched. He had no doubt who "them" was -- but who was "we"? Nyanko-sensei was the only youkai he knew that could write in human letters, and even he only wrote enough to report he was going drinking. This was near-illegible; whoever knew human writing didn't know it very well. It suggested he could trade himself for them, naming a time and a place. He checked the clock on his phone. He'd have to hurry.

Heart pounding, he locked the door and ran down the street. He yanked out his phone and tried the third number he had on speed dial. Voice mail. "Natori," Takashi gasped. "Where are you? I need your help." He explained where he was going and hung up.

**

Tooru was suddenly aware again, awake, though it took a second to confirm her eyes were open because she couldn't see. It was pitch-black and chilly, and her arms were tied behind her. Judging from her numb fingers, she'd been there for a little while at least. Her head throbbed. She stilled and heard breathing next to her. Probably Kaname. She attempted to lean over to tell -- he had a distinctive scent, something she'd once described to him as trees and wind, which had left him speechless and blushing -- except, as she discovered, her neck had a rope tied around it. She made herself take a deep, slow breath and focused on edging away from panic. That had to be Kaname. Who else would it be? She thought she caught his scent, but maybe she was inventing it out of fear. She should be wishing him far away from there, anyway. Wherever "there" was.

Kaname had just finished cooking, she remembered; he was stretched on the couch in the living room when she returned from work. He'd said he had a headache and lying in the dark was soothing.

When the back door flew open, she'd thought it was Takashi. There hadn't been more than a moment to register surprise before a pair of youkai rushed in. Her heart had hammered as she recognized the one who'd cursed her. They'd bound it!

The two youkai hadn't expected Tooru and Kaname would be able to see them, although the one who'd cursed her, absorbing this, had looked down to see the circle they'd inscribed in the living room, growling and then cackling. Then it and the other one -- her impression of that one was mostly of a hideous maw -- had grabbed them. She'd had the ridiculous thought that this would teach her to be better about remembering to lock that door.

She'd yelled; so did Kaname. Then there'd been a massive fist coming at her, and she hadn't been able to help it: she'd shut her eyes against what seemed inevitable.

And now they were shivering in the darkness. The person next to her -- he had to be Kaname -- stirred and moaned. The sound elicited snickering nearby: two voices. She shuddered.

"This will make him sad," gloated the youkai she didn't know. "He'll taste delicious when he's so lonely."

"And these two," her youkai said, as much as she hated thinking of him as _hers_. "These two will be mine. Their terror will be sweet. Especially hers. Especially when he tries to help them."

How on earth had it escaped? Takashi had bound it. It was gone, a closed chapter, not something she had to worry about.

There were footsteps after that, and then nothing.

Her neck prickled.

"Kaname," she whispered. He groaned. She couldn't move her hands very much, but by sort of tilting herself backwards and flapping her fingers around she managed to touch him and figure out he was slumped facing her. "Turn around," she said. "Careful!" He'd moved too quickly and his head, also tied, jerked; she felt his hair brush against her neck. "I'm going to untie your hands."

He made some noise she took for groggy assent.

She felt in the darkness for his fingers, then backed her fingers carefully up his hands until she got to the rope. It was thick stuff and tied tight. And she couldn't see. And her fingers were getting even more numb.

No reason to give up.

"Did you ever," Kaname asked in a low, creaky voice, "figure out a spell to create light?"

"No! It was on my list," she said, hissing as a fingernail tore on the rope. "I'll get to it someday."

"Then teach it to me," Kaname said, a quiver in his voice.

She closed her eyes. It felt easier, instead of instinctively straining to make out anything. "I will." Keep talking, she begged wordlessly. Anything to distract the panic and let her concentrate on these cursed knots.

She snagged another fingernail and winced; she hadn't known her nails were long enough to break on anything. She could barely feel her fingers by now, but somehow, perhaps through a stubborn remembrance of where they used to be, when her arms were her own and untied, she kept them working.

"Maybe I should try," Kaname said. His voice was steady now.

All right. She let her fingers flop down from where they'd been scrabbling ineffectually at the rope and nodded. Remembering he wouldn't see it, she said, "Yes, yes. Please, go ahead."

She could feel tiny, uneven tugs on the rope as he started fumbling with it. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he repeated, sounding less calm each time. "I'm no good at this."

"It's okay. Take your time." But not too much, she thought. "Do you have anything in your pockets that might help? Do I? No," she said, answering her own question, "I don't think I do."

"Me neither," Kaname replied; she could feel the pressure against her wrists as he tugged at the rope.

"Your keys?"

"No. They're on the table by the door. Or they were."

"Takashi will be worried," she blurted, and regretted it as frantic tears started in her eyes.

They fell into silence as Kaname continued to struggle with the knots.

After what felt like a long time, there was a slow, long, low scrape, then another one: the tread of an enormous body on the ground. They froze. The noise repeated itself. Then a thin, high laugh.

It was one Tooru knew well.

"As amusing as this is," said the youkai that cursed her, "it's time to put an end to that, don't you think?" More smug laughter. And light, setting off explosions of pain in her head. Kaname whimpered beside her as she shrunk away, bent her face down from the intolerable brightness more than the youkai.

A second later she forced her eyes open just a bit; she wanted to see what was coming while she could. Her eyes streamed tears in protest, but she blinked them away. Then she wanted to cry for completely different reasons. The youkai loomed above them, smirking, a flame bobbing from a stick held in its hand.

**

"You should always carry one of those with you," Tooru had told him, upon seeing Natori wield his chains of paper dolls. Takashi, still uncomfortable with exorcism and the tools of exorcists, had balked. But he knew Tooru and Natori were right; sometimes he needed to ensure a youkai wouldn't harm anyone else. He and Natori had already done so, numerous times. It wasn't so different, then, to learn more paper magic from the exorcist, how to use those paper dolls, whether a single enormous one or a chain of smaller ones, to restrain spirits.

His skin had crawled every time they had a lesson. And yet he'd kept some with him since the day several months ago when Natori, beaming, declared him proficient. Takashi's pockets and his wallet seemed always to have a wedge of them tucked inside.

Now he sent gratitude to Tooru, wherever she was, for the suggestion. He ran towards Nanatsumori, staggering and stumbling when his foot hit a tree root or a slippery patch of grass in the dark. His phone wasn't ringing. "I guess I have to do this one myself," he panted.

He reached the appointed meeting place, a small clearing with a tiny pond in it, and tried to suck air into his heaving lungs as quietly as possible. He put his back to a tree, after squinting up into its branches as best he could, and peered from side to side.

Nothing --

\-- then, sliding out from behind a tree was a shape: a youkai, one-eyed, with a large mouth upturned in a parody of a grin, hissing with laughter. His heart thudded. It was the one who'd tried to bind him, as a child, the one who'd wanted -- he trembled to think of it -- to feed on his loneliness, to keep him around to gorge on it. There had been so much of it back then. Blundering his way through the procedure, Takashi had somehow managed to bind it instead.

Until it was freed and came after Takashi and Nyanko-sensei scattered its energy. It must take some time for a youkai to regain its strength after that happened. But it was clearly possible. Was it the one who'd written the note? Takashi thought, with a shot of hysteria, that it was a silly thing for the youkai to have occupied its time with while convalescing.

"It's been a while." The youkai's eye shifted, flashing from side to side. "This time there's no ugly tanuki to save you. Your heart will be so delicious," it remarked casually, as if considering what kind of drink to have with dinner.

"I-I'm not lonely anymore," Takashi whispered. He managed to steady his voice as he said, a little louder now, "I'm not sad anymore, either. You can't have me."

A giggle issued from the youkai's grinning mouth, that hideous, hollow imitation of mirth. "Oh, I think you're about to become very sad."

Takashi shook himself. "Where are they? Are they all right? If you've hurt them -- " He jammed a hand in his pocket, touching paper.

A shriek of hilarity in reply. "I think they're about to be hurt, actually. You'll be so pleased to know that I met up with another old friend of yours. Let's go watch, shall we? Or maybe I'll just let you listen."

"No!" he shouted. "You take me, and you let them go. If they're not here -- if they're hurt -- then the deal is off."

The youkai's mouth folded into a frown, just as much a mockery of human emotion as its sick grin. "But we'll have so much more fun if they're gone. I'll have more fun, anyway. You'll be sad."

Takashi didn't waste time on a reply; he snatched the paper dolls out of his pocket, hurling them towards the spirit, who dodged the initial attack. But the dolls, animate creatures now, sensed their prey and wheeled back around. The youkai began wailing as they encircled it, drawing tight with a snap.

"Okay, it was a joke! A very bad joke," it wheezed as it crumpled to the ground. "Let me out of here and I'll show you where your friends are." It bobbed its head for emphasis.

Takashi was gasping for breath. It worked! This was the first time he'd managed to bind a youkai using the paper dolls by himself. But what if he'd done it wrong? Or the youkai figured out how to escape?

He knuckled his eyes in an attempt to make them feel less stiff with fatigue and tried to think. Tooru and Kaname had to be somewhere nearby. The spirit continued yelling and rolling on the ground, trailing paper behind it. Takashi wished he had a way to shut it up; they could be calling for help right now and he'd miss them.

"Just let me go and I'll lead you right to them. No tricks, I promise. I'll even tell you who's there waiting with them." It stopped rolling back and forth, stilled its head. The massive eye blinked at him.

Takashi muttered, "I can't believe I'm even considering this." He shook his head. "No." He took a few steps, then paused, looking from side to side. The forest was dark, only weak patches of moon- and starlight filtering down, and quiet. He strained his ears and could hear none of the tiny noises that were normal for woodland at night. No chittering of animals, no rustling of wind through the branches, no crackling of feet making their way through the underbrush. The youkai started shrieking again. Who knew what kind of trouble that noise would draw? Any youkai that would help it was no friend of his.

He shut his eyes. He'd once heard that helped you hear better, but maybe that was a myth; he couldn't pick up anything that was useful. He picked a direction at random, turning right when the forest seemed to open up a path. He had no idea who'd created the path, who used it. Possibly it went nowhere at all. He might be going further away from them with every step. Maybe he should go ask that youkai for help after all.

"There you are," came a voice, and Takashi half-leapt off the ground, ready to flee, except it was Hiiragi, swooping in next to him. Following behind was Nyanko-sensei, already transformed into Madara and pivoting tightly to land beneath the trees.

"Hiiragi. Nyanko-sensei. How did you...?" He reached a hand up to touch Madara's fur, burying his face in it for a moment.

"Natori got your message," she said. "He's on a business trip, but he sent me to help you."

"Thank you," he breathed.

"And I found this one," she said, indicating Madara with a jerk of her chin, "on the way. At Yatsuhara. Luckily he wasn't too drunk yet."

"Hey!" Madara objected, giving a small burp. "A great one like me can hold a lot!"

"Never mind that. We have to find Tooru and Kaname. Now." Takashi explained about the youkai he'd left in the clearing.

Madara was noisily affronted: "How dare that little thing make another try at you? After I took care of him?"

"Never mind, Sensei," Takashi said. "Let's just go find them right away. Please."

Madara sniffed, then belched again. "I can smell another ayakashi," he said, nodding. "A rotten one. Familiar. Could it be... ?" He launched himself into the air and sped off, Hiiragi streaming along behind him and Takashi racing to keep up.

"Sensei!" he yelled. He didn't have to worry about being left behind, though; it was only another minute before Madara dropped to the ground in front of a cave with a low entrance, half-hidden by a fallen tree. Takashi would've missed it without knowing it was there. Madara roared, a sound Takashi had rarely heard, and not at such volume. There was a pop of air as Madara shrunk into his maneki neko form.

Takashi didn't break his stride as he ran after Nyanko-sensei into the cave, Hiiragi with them.

He stopped short as he saw a youkai he recognized instantly -- the one that had cursed Tooru -- brandishing a light in its huge fist. Takashi recoiled, remembering without effort the long tongue licking his eyes, being bound by the neck in a dark cave.

Tooru and Kaname's eyes were squeezed shut as they tried to turn away from the light, all they could do while their hands were bound. Takashi shivered: their necks were tied.

"Oh, this is good! I'll eat you too," the youkai said, its massive mouth twisted into a terrifying rictus. "And maybe your youkai friends. That ugly pig probably tastes horrible, though." The youkai turned to regard Nyanko-sensei. "Maybe I'll take a taste first."

While it was focused on Nyanko-sensei, Hiiragi rushed past towards Tooru and Kaname, Takashi following.

"As if I'd let an ugly lump like you so much as touch me!" Nyanko-sensei said, leaping up and unleashing a fierce, brilliant light. Takashi covered his eyes. A second later he forced them open to see, gratefully, that Hiiragi had gathered Tooru and Kaname towards her, blocking the worst of the light.

Takashi heard a high-pitched squeal; a sudden gust drove grit into his face. The youkai was dissolving, shredding in the light and the wind, being unmade.

Soon there was nothing to see.

"That's what you get for being soft." Nyanko-sensei's voice came through the darkness. "If you didn't complain so much when I ate troublemakers, we wouldn't have these problems."

"Sensei," Takashi said. "Thank you. And Hiiragi." He stumbled through the darkness to the wall of the cave. "Tooru. Kaname. Are you... are you all right?"

"Just... just untie us," Tooru said. Her voice was even, but as he reached for her hand he could feel it shaking. Hiiragi was already working on the ropes, but even so it was a few minutes' work, and then he was helping both of them walk out into the night air.

The forest seemed to be restored to its usual state, soft chirpings and the scurrying of animal feet once again part of the landscape.

"I'm going to take care of that other one," Nyanko-sensei said, transforming back into Madara and zooming off. Takashi didn't have the heart to tell him to be merciful, and indeed, maybe it was the right thing, the better thing, even if he could never be glad for it.

Hiiragi said, "I'd better report back to Natori. He'll be worried." She swooped away.

They stood, letting their pulses return to a more relaxed pace. Then Takashi pulled them both to him, not trying to hide the tears that fell into their hair.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Let's go home."

**

The next morning, Tooru said, "I'll make toast." She didn't want anything more substantial. The other two didn't seem to either, seemingly as dazed as she felt.

After they ate, Takashi cleared his throat. "I don't think we should do this anymore."

Tooru and Kaname's heads snapped up. "What?" they said in tandem.

Takashi gestured weakly, encompassing the three of them and the house. "This. It's... it's dangerous. For you."

Kaname put his glass of juice down with a precise clink. "It's dangerous for you, too."

Tooru shook her head. "Oh, Takashi, we've been over this before. So many times."

"I could get hit by a bus," Kaname said, "just as easily as getting killed by a youkai."

"But... you don't go running in front of buses deliberately." Takashi pressed his lips into a tight line, but Tooru could detect a tremor.

Kaname said, "I don't go out of my way to avoid buses."

"You check before you cross the street," Tooru said. "That's all you can do really, isn't it? So we'll check. And... find some more ways to check." She frowned. "I mean, we'll keep figuring out ways to be safer."

Kaname rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "It's hard, Takashi, feeling useless," he said, looking down. "But we figure out ways to make it work. That spell, the circles -- we can see, we can do things."

"We'll figure out how to do more things," Tooru said. "That light spell." She caught Kaname's eye, managing a crooked smile. "That's my top priority now. You can help." She turned back to Takashi. "Kaname's good at figuring out spells, how they might work."

Kaname gave her a look of gratitude, then looked down again. "Tooru's good at it, too. We're learning a lot of useful things."

"Besides," she said, "we choose this." She smiled, but it had a sharpness to it. She was tired -- none of them slept well last night, despite relief and the spent adrenaline making them sag onto the bed almost as soon as they got home. The dinner Kaname had prepared still sat untouched on the counter.

She was weary of this argument, too; sometimes it felt like every time there was youkai excitement, Takashi got like this. She knew why. That didn't make it easier.

"It's our choice to be here with you. It's not as if we want to be in danger any more than you want us to be!" Kaname shifted in his seat and folded his hands in front of him.

"I'm home!" came a boisterous voice. Nyanko-sensei toddled unsteadily into the room.

"You reek," Takashi said, wrinkling his nose at the stench of sake and sour vomit.

"What, you think a little disturbance like that would keep me from enjoying myself?" the cat sneered. He leapt, a bit less gracefully than usual, onto the counter and speared himself a piece of fish. "Nyanko-sensei," Takashi said, swatting him. "That's been out all night. It'll make you sick."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a cat? It'll take more than that to get to me." He gulped it down while Tooru reached out and stroked his back, once, twice. Jumping onto the floor, he began grooming himself, one hind leg flagpole-straight in the air. He looked up at the silence, checking each face before guffawing. "Natsume's doing his worrywart thing again, huh?" He snorted. "You should be grateful anyone wants to hang around you at all, as stupid as you are. Too stupid to keep your own nose out of trouble, never mind anybody else's." A few more quick licks to his fur, then he curled into a circle, one paw over his nose. His snores were audible. Tooru knew from previous experience that they weren't feigned, either.

She looked up and saw Kaname's lips twitching. Suddenly she wanted to giggle too. So she did, which set Kaname off as well.

"He's got a point sometimes," Kaname said, still laughing.

Red-faced, Takashi looked at his watch. "Um, I probably need to go to work." He stood up and brought his dishes to the sink before hurrying into the bathroom.

"Well, that's that." Kaname rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "For now, at least." His eyes met Tooru's.

"Nyanko-sensei's right," she said. "Takashi can be a little slow to pick up on things sometimes. But he'll get it. We'll make sure, right?" She stepped over to Kaname and enfolded him in a hug. She could hear his heart beating, breathed in his comforting scent -- it really was like wind through the trees somehow.

Both of them jumped at a knock on the door. Tooru reminded herself that their visitors the night before hadn't knocked. And the back door was locked now, anyway; she'd done it as soon as they'd gotten home last night.

Still, they went to open the door together. There was nobody there. Or nobody that they could see. They'd forgotten the spell that morning. Usually at least one of them made sure to cast it first thing.

She opened her mouth to invite in the unseen person -- who would become visible crossing into the circle on the floor of their living room -- when Takashi, hair wet from the shower, brushed past, smiling, and said, "Chuukyuu! Please come in."

Tooru let out a breath she didn't remember holding. She did like the pair, even if they kept the three of them busy out of proportion to any real troubles at Yatsuhara. The cyclops and cow youkai blinked into view as they stepped into the house, bowing to Takashi and nodding politely at Tooru and Kaname.

"We heard there was some trouble last night," the cyclops began, as they settled on the couch. Nyanko-sensei was still snoring on the floor. "Madara came back and told us about it. We just came to see with our own eyes."

"With our own eyes," the cow echoed.

"That Natsume-sama is all right. And... you too," the cyclops amended, giving Tooru and Kaname hasty nods. "And we came to ask you again, Natsume-sama: why don't you come live in Yatsuhara? Then you would have lots of youkai looking after you. Not just this useless furball."

Nyanko-sensei raised one eyelid and said, "I didn't see you there last night when Natsume needed help. Besides, what about those exorcists?"

The cyclops coughed. "Surely Natsume-sama living there would persuade them that they should stay away. Especially" -- here he looked pained -- "if you came to live at Yatsuhara as well, Madara-sama."

Takashi's face broke into a smile. Tooru could see the sheen of tears in his eyes.

"I don't know how comfortable Tooru and Kaname would be there. Or how comfortable I would be. This is our home," he said, gesturing around them. "But thank you."

"We'll come check on you again," the chuukyuu promised as they reluctantly took their leave.

"I'm going to be late," Takashi said. "I'd better go." He kissed Tooru and then Kaname. Routine, everyday kisses, but she noted with sad amusement that Kaname clung to Takashi just as she did.

She gripped Takashi's hand. "Come back tonight," she said. "We'll be here."

"Yes," Kaname said, taking his other hand. "You're right. This is our home."

Nyanko-sensei stirred again. "Sentimental fools. Get going! If you're late you might not make enough money to buy me squid!"

They chuckled and dropped their hands. Takashi hurried into the kitchen to grab something for lunch.

Tooru and Kaname looked at each other. "We'll have to keep reminding him," Kaname said.

"All the time," Tooru said. "But if that's what we have to do..."

"Then we do it."

"Well," Tooru sighed, pulling him to her in another tight hug, "I'd better get going soon, too."

"I'll start the dishes," he said, as she went to get dressed.

The house filled with the sounds of daily life, the sounds of their family.


End file.
